Editing Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (section)

=== Earp loses sheriff's office to Behan ===
{{further|topic=his service as a lawman in Tombstone|Johnny Behan}}
[[File:Charles a shibell 2.jpg|thumb|Pima County Sheriff [[Charles A. Shibell]] appointed Wyatt Earp as deputy sheriff over eastern Pima County.]]
On July 27, 1880, [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima County]] [[Sheriff]] [[Charles A. Shibell]], whose offices were in the county seat of Tucson, appointed Wyatt Earp as [[deputy sheriff]]. On October 28, 1880, Tombstone Marshal [[Fred White (marshal)|Fred White]] attempted to disarm some late-night revelers who were shooting their pistols in the air. When he attempted to disarm Curly Bill Brocius, the gun discharged, striking White in the abdomen. Wyatt saw the shooting and [[pistol-whipping|pistol-whipped]] Brocius, knocking him unconscious, and arrested him. Wyatt later told his biographer [[John H. Flood, Jr.|John Flood]] that he thought Brocius was still armed at the time, and did not see Brocius' pistol on the ground.<ref>John H. Flood Manuscript, 1926, p.85</ref>

Brocius waived the preliminary hearing so he and his case could be immediately transferred to [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]]. Wyatt and a deputy took Brocius in a wagon the next day to Tucson to stand trial, possibly saving him from being [[Lynching in the United States|lynched]]. Wyatt testified that he thought the shooting was accidental. It was also demonstrated that Brocius's pistol could be fired from [[half-cock]]. Fred White left a statement before he died two days later that the shooting was not intentional. Based on the evidence presented, Brocius was not charged with White's death.<ref name="lubet"/>{{rp|30–31}}

The Tombstone council convened and appointed Virgil Earp as "temporary assistant city marshal" to replace White for a salary of $100 per month ({{Inflation|US|100|1880|r=-2|fmt=eq}}) until an election could be held on November 12. For the next few weeks, Virgil represented federal and local law enforcement and Wyatt represented Pima County.<ref name=guinn/>{{rp|122–123}}

In the November 2, 1880, election for Pima County sheriff, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] Shibell ran against Republican [[Robert H. Paul|Bob Paul]], who was expected to win. Votes arrived as late as November 7, and Shibell was unexpectedly re-elected. He immediately appointed [[Johnny Behan]] as the new deputy sheriff for eastern Pima County, a job that Wyatt wanted. A controversy ensued when Paul uncovered [[ballot-stuffing]] by Cowboys and he sued to overturn the election. While San Simeon precinct, east of Tombstone, only had 10 registered voters, Shibell won that precinct with 103 votes to 1. Ike Clanton was the election inspector and Johnny Ringo was one of the election judges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-outlaw-king-of-galeyville/|title=The Outlaw King of Galeyville|first=Marshall|last=Trimble}}</ref>

Paul finally became sheriff in April 1881, but it was too late to re-appoint Wyatt Earp as [[deputy sheriff]] because on February 1, 1881, the eastern portion of Pima County containing Tombstone had been split off into the new [[Cochise County]], which would need its own sheriff, based in the county's largest city, Tombstone.<ref name="CC">{{cite web | title =Cochise County Arizona | work =County Website | publisher =Cochise County | year =2009 | url =http://www.cochise.az.gov/Default.aspx?id=4104 | access-date =September 25, 2009 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120817152024/http://www.cochise.az.gov/Default.aspx?id=4104 | archive-date =August 17, 2012 }}</ref> This position was filled by a political appointment from the governor, and Wyatt and Behan both wanted the job. The Cochise County sheriff's position was worth more than $40,000 a year (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|.04|1881|r=1}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) because the office holder was also county assessor and tax collector, and the board of supervisors allowed him to keep ten percent of the amounts paid.<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=O-LPR9U64ngC&pg=PA157 | last1 = Breakenridge | first1 = William M. | last2 = Brown | first2 = Richard Maxwell. | title = Helldorado: Bringing the Law to the Mesquite | year = 1992 | publisher = University of Nebraska Press | location = Lincoln| isbn = 978-0-8032-6100-6 | page = 448 | access-date = April 14, 2011 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140617202000/http://books.google.com/books?id=O-LPR9U64ngC&pg=PA157 | archive-date = June 17, 2014 }}</ref>{{rp|157|date=November 2012}}

Behan used his existing position and his superior political connections to successfully [[lobbying|lobby]] for the position. He also promised Wyatt a position as his [[undersheriff]] if he was appointed over Wyatt. Wyatt withdrew from the political contest and the governor and legislature appointed Behan to the job of Cochise County sheriff on February 10, 1881.<ref name="oldwest"/> Behan reneged on his deal with Earp and appointed Harry Woods as undersheriff instead. Behan said he broke his promise to appoint Earp because Wyatt Earp used Behan's name to threaten Ike Clanton when Wyatt recovered his stolen horse from Clanton.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clantongang.com/oldwest/billy_history.html |access-date=March 11, 2011 |title=The Life and Times of Billy Clanton 1862–1881 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110420080333/http://www.clantongang.com/oldwest/billy_history.html |archive-date=April 20, 2011 }}</ref>